The Greatest Shinobi
by raitei007
Summary: What if Jiraiya decided that a harsher training regiment was needed to ensure Naruto's survival against the Akatsuki? How would a stronger Naruto impact the Naruto universe? Includes elements from 'History's Strongest Disciple: Kenichi'. No godlike Naruto. He will have to work his way up.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: I got the idea for this story while reading History's Strongest Disciple: Kenichi. If a weak, wimpy Kenichi, without any prior knowledge or training in martial arts could become that strong in a little more than a year, why couldn't a determined Naruto, already possessing basic shinobi training, become stronger than what he became in the manga by training for more than two years?

I would appreciate any constructive reviews: positive or negative.

Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or History's Strongest Disciple: Kenichi.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Uzumaki Naruto was happy. Barely, an hour ago, he had left Konoha along with Jiraiya to train for the next two-and-a-half years. Sure the man was a pervert, but he was a super-strong pervert. Naruto was sure that he was going to become strong as well. He couldn't wait for the training to begin.

_Just you wait, Sasuke._

Jiraiya looked at his young charge. They had been walking for the last hour and he could see the gaki trembling in excitement. In the last few days, he had made some drastic changes in his plans for training Naruto. While his initial plan would have strengthened Naruto, he would not be strong enough to face the Akatsuki.

_I am sorry, Minato. But this is the only way to make sure your son survives._

"Naruto."

Naruto turned around and saw that Jiraiya had stopped.

"Why did you stop, ero-sennin?" he asked, annoyed. He was about to continue but he saw the serious look on the older shinobi's face and kept his mouth shut.

Jiraiya released all of his killing intent as he spoke to Naruto, "Gaki, I will not lie to you. My training will be harsh. There is a full possibility that you could get killed during the training. If you want to back out, you can do it now. Because once you start the training, you can either leave the training by completing it or by dying."

Naruto was overwhelmed by the killing intent. It was as terrifying as Orochimaru's. But he could not give up now. He had to get Sasuke back.

"I am not going to back out. That's my nindo, to never give up", he said, struggling to stand up against the massive killing intent.

Jiraiya smiled and the killing intent disappeared.

"You are gutsy, gaki", he said, hoisting Naruto over his shoulder. Naruto squawked in protest.

"Oi, what are you doing, ero-sennin? Put me down."

"Relax, gaki", he said, chuckling ominously. "I am taking you to your hell."

**Two-and-a-half years later**

Sakura ran down the streets of Konoha with the Konohamaru corps running right behind her. If what the gatekeepers said was true, then…

The long white hair was recognizable even from that distance. Jiraiya was standing in the middle of the street looking at something in the sky. He turned around slightly as they came to a halt next to him.

"Hey, is that him?" asked an excited Konohamaru, looking up the pole near him. Sakura gazed up as well. There was no mistaking that mop of blonde hair.

"Naruto! Hey, Naruto!" she shouted.

Naruto looked down on hearing his name. He stared at them for a moment before realizing who they were. He jumped down with a happy grin.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura looked at Naruto for a moment. He was wearing a black, sleeveless jacket, zipped in the centre. He wore dark orange pants with kunai pouches on both legs along with blue, standard shinobi footwear. He also had a belt across his waist with two pouches attached. He wore two blood red armguards that covered most of his forearms and his hand, though the fingers were uncovered. His headband no longer had the old, blue cloth. Rather, it was tied across his forehead with a black cloth.

But there was something else that really bugged Sakura.

"Naruto, you are taller than me now", she said.

Naruto carefully measured their heads with his hand, before yelling in delight, "Alright! I'm no longer the shortest."

"Hey boss!"

Naruto turned around to see a really beautiful brunette, completely naked, winking at him. She disappeared in a puff of smoke and Konohamaru stood in her place. "What do you think of that?"

Naruto smiled at the young boy. Konohamaru had grown up. He was a genin now.

"Hey, Konohamaru", he said. "That henge was excellent. But that really won't help you in an actual fight." He ruffled the boy's head, "I'm gonna teach you some awesome techniques, dattebayo."

Sakura smiled as she realized that Naruto had grown up after all. A cough interrupted her musings. Standing behind her was a well-endowed, blonde woman with a diamond shaped mark on her forehead.

"Tsunade-baachan!"

Suppressing the urge to send Naruto into a coma on his first day back, she said, "Welcome back, gaki. I hope you have become stronger."

Jiraiya spoke for the first time, "Oi, what do you think? I trained him."

Tsunade leaned towards Jiraiya and whispered, "For your sake, I hope you did not turn him into a pervert."

Jiraiya gulped nervously.

"Alright Naruto, you haven't been on any missions for over two years", said Tsunade. "So, you will have to give a test. A fight, if you will."

"Cool", the blonde exclaimed. "Who do I have to fight?"

"That would be me", came a voice from behind him.

"Kakashi-sensei", he exclaimed, as he saw his one-eyed, masked teacher walking towards him.

"Yo, Naruto", he said, giving a lazy wave of his hand. "You've grown up."

Naruto dug into his pouch and pulled out a green-covered book. "Hey sensei, I've got a gift for you. It's really boring, but you like books like these, don't you?"

Kakashi took the book from him, his eye wide open in wonderment. "Is this…?"

He read the title 'Icha-Icha Tactics'. "Isn't this book supposed to be released a month from now?" he asked, almost drooling.

"Can we get back onto the topic?" asked the Godaime Hokage, getting increasingly annoyed.

"Oh, yes", said Kakashi, snapping out of his daze. "Naruto, Sakura, both of you will be fighting me. You have not fought together in a long time. And Sakura, you have been mostly restricted to medical training under Tsunade-sama. I will decide if you are ready to go back onto the field."

"It's almost noon now. There is something I need to do. So let's meet at the old Training Ground Three at four in the evening. Bye." And he vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"What? Where did he run off to?" asked Naruto.

"To read that book, obviously", said Sakura, sounding annoyed at her sensei.

"He has always been my greatest fan", said Jiraiya, wearing a self-satisfied smirk.

Tsunade sighed. "Anyways, you two should prepare for the evening. Jiraiya, come along. I want a full report." And the two left in a swirl of leaves, as well.

"Konohamaru-kun", said Moegi, "we need to leave as well. Ebisu-sensei will be looking for us."

"Oh, right", he said, smacking his head. "See you later, boss."

They ran away, leaving Sakura and Naruto alone.

"Hey Sakura-chan", said Naruto. "How about lunch? My treat."

"Your treat, eh? Fine", she said. "Besides, you need to tell me what you have been up to in the last two-and-a-half years."

* * *

They had an enjoyable lunch and had run into Shikamaru and Temari on the way. Naruto had been dismayed and depressed on hearing that he was the only one in their group who was still a genin. He had been happy and proud though when he heard that Gaara had become the Kazekage. They had talked for some time and had finally arrived on Training Ground Three.

"How much longer do we have to wait?"

It was half-past-five and Naruto and Sakura had been waiting for Kakashi for the last two hours. Naruto had been eagerly waiting to show-off his skills and was now pulling his hair in frustration.

"Are you actually surprised?" asked Sakura, though she sounded annoyed herself. "When has that man ever been on time?"

"But I thought he would have changed a little bit", whined Naruto. "I mean, it has been three years."

"Bah! There is no way he is ever going to change", scoffed Sakura.

A little further away, concealed by some trees, three people awaited Kakashi's arrival.

"Kakashi sure is taking his time, isn't he?" said Shizune.

Jiraiya gave a lecherous chuckle, "What can I say? My books are just that great."

"Keeping talking pervert and I will give you something else to talk about", said Tsunade, crushing a stone in her hand. Jiraiya gulped and decided to remain quiet.

"Hello, my dear students", came a cheerful voice from behind Naruto and Sakura.

"YOU'RE LATE!"

Kakashi stuffed his fingers into his ears. He pulled them out and waved cheerfully at his former students.

"Now, now… What are you so upset about?" he asked, ignoring their glares.

He looked around wistfully. "It's been some time since we have all been here together, hasn't it?"

Naruto and Sakura merely looked at the ground depressed. They both knew and felt Sasuke's absence.

"Anyways", said Kakashi, pulling two bells out of his pocket. He tied them to his waist. His two ex-students looked at the bells in surprise and some amount of trepidation. They both remembered the humiliation they had suffered at Kakashi's hands many years ago.

"You know the rules", said Kakashi, lifting his headband, revealing the sharingan. The younger shinobi looked at him in surprise. "Get the bells. You have till sunrise." And, he vanished in a puff of smoke.

Naruto and Sakura looked around, but there was no sign of him.

"Naruto, get back", said Sakura, and without further thought, punched the ground. What followed next scared Naruto to the core.

The ground split open and broke apart for several metres, huge chunks of stone flying about. And in a crater, a few feet away, they saw Kakashi sitting with a wide-eyed expression.

In the trees, Jiraiya shuddered violently. "Damn it! It looks like Tsunade created a mini-me."

Naruto shook with fear. "Just like the old lady", he thought. "I had better be careful around her, or she will actually kill me."

"Found you, sensei", said the pink-haired girl, smiling sweetly at the copy-nin.

"Not bad, Sakura", said Kakashi, regaining his calm. "But…", he stopped suddenly and looked down in alarm. Vines were creeping along his body, tying him up.

"Genjutsu", he thought, and broke through it. He looked up and jumped into the air immediately, Sakura's fist missing him by inches. But Sakura had anticipated that move and grabbing a large chunk of the ground she had broken earlier, she hurled it into the air towards Kakashi, who could not dodge it mid-air.

Kakashi threw a kunai, with an exploding tag attached to it, towards the piece of land headed at him, causing it to explode. He landed safely some way away from Sakura.

"Very good, Sakura", he praised. "It seems you took lesson number two to heart."

"Yup", she replied. "What was it that you said? Oh yeah. Genjutsu." She stuck her tongue out at him.

Kakashi wanted to say something more, but at that very instant he felt Naruto approach. Turning slightly to his right, he saw Naruto charge at him, his fist extended. Kakashi promptly grabbed the extended arm and threw Naruto over his head.

But to his surprise, Naruto did not crash onto the ground. Instead, he righted himself mid-air and landed on his feet.

Naruto took a deep breath and raised his fists, his right leg ahead of his left. "Let's go."

And he attacked again.

Kakashi blocked the incoming fist and was momentarily surprised by the power behind it. But he had no time to think as he had to duck to avoid the sudden kick to his face. He moved back out of Naruto's range and gathered himself. He had not expected Naruto to have shown such improvement.

"You have improved, Naruto", said Kakashi, before charging at Naruto. And the two started trading blows at an incredible pace. What was most surprising was that Naruto was able to keep up with Kakashi although he had his sharingan activated. Then, in a sudden burst of speed, Kakashi appeared behind Naruto and delivered a powerful kick at him only for Naruto to break into pieces of wood.

"Kawarimi!" exclaimed a stunned Kakashi.

In the trees, Shizune and Tsunade watched in shock at Naruto's performance – though for entirely different reasons. Shizune was shocked because of Naruto's reaction time, especially his last move. That kawarimi had been instantaneous.

Tsunade, though, was surprised by the moves Naruto used.

"Ryuusui Seikkuken? Naruto?" she asked, turning to look at a smiling Jiraiya.

"Surprising, isn't it?" he said. "Naruto is loud, brash and…not very bright. But he is an entirely different person when it comes to combat. He is focussed, determined and he has lots and lots of guts."

"But a sei fighter?" asked Tsunade.

"Huh?" asked Shizune, looking very confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Basically, there are two types of fighters: dou and sei", explained Jiraiya, entering his teacher-mode. "To make it short, a dou fighter gains power by focussing their strength and releasing it outwardly, like an explosion. A sei fighter, on the other hand, turn their strength inwards and release it in a calm, controlled manner. Neither type is stronger than the other though. It is just a manner of combat."

"Which is why Naruto being a sei fighter is surprising", said Tsunade. "Given his personality, I was sure he would be a dou fighter."

"I am not sure about that", said Jiraiya. "The Fourth Hokage had a calm personality but he was a dou fighter."

"So what was this technique Naruto used that had you so surprised, Tsunade-sama?" asked Shizune.

"Ryuusui Seikkuken. It is one of the highest techniques in the sei style", said Tsunade, as she watched Naruto and Kakashi trade blows. "Is that why he was able to use the kawarimi that quickly?"

"Not exactly", said Jiraiya. "It was partly due to the Ryuusui Seikkuken. Mostly though, I think he felt the air behind him get displaced when Kakashi suddenly moved behind him and used kawarimi on instinct."

"He has really improved tremendously", said the blonde medic. "But he hasn't mastered it completely, has he, Jiraiya?"

"No", said Jiraiya, watching the fight. "But he is close. Oh look, Tsunade. Your apprentice has re-joined the battle."

They watched as Sakura hurled a huge log at Kakashi, forcing him to jump out of the way.

"Naruto, are you ok?" she asked, joining him.

"Yeah", he said, taking deep breaths to calm himself. "Oh, damn it."

Kakashi had started forming hand-seals rapidly. He stopped at 'bird' calling out a very familiar name: "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu".

A great water dragon appeared before Kakashi and shot off towards them.

"Sakura-chan, get behind me", shouted Naruto, pulling a paper tag from his waist pouch. He threw it into the air and quickly brought his hands together in a ram seal. The paper, instead of falling down, floated in the air, glowing.

The water dragon hit the tag and was stopped in its path by a barrier that had suddenly appeared.

Kakashi stared at his old student, impressed. "Barrier ninjutsu", he thought. "Well done, Naruto. You have truly grown."

"Naruto", said Sakura. "We need to retreat for now and re-group."

"Wait, Sakura-chan", he said, turning towards her. "Remember that jab I showed you earlier? Let's give it a try. If it fails, we fall back."

She stared at him for a moment.

"Alright", she said. "But I can only give you a second. Follow my lead."

And she charged towards Kakashi, Naruto at her heels.

She approached Kakashi and threw a punch at his face. He moved his head to dodge it, but at that moment his sharingan detected a very faint genjutsu. He broke it immediately and had to side-step a spear hand strike thrown at his waist.

But even as he dodged, he felt the bells fall away. He looked down in surprise to see Sakura scoop the bells up and tossing one to Naruto.

"So what do you think, sensei?" she asked, both holding their bells up with cheeky smiles.

"Heh", he snorted, lowering his headband over his sharingan. "The two of you have really grown up. You pass", he said, with his trademark eye-smile.

"Though I am curious, how did you cut the string, Naruto?" he asked, being certain that the bells had been cut and not pulled away.

Naruto raised his hand. A faint glow surrounded it. Kakashi's eye widened in recognition. "Wind chakra", he said.

"Yup", said Naruto, grinning happily.

Tsunade, Jiraiya and Shizune walked up to them.

"Good job, you two", said Tsunade. "Well, Kakashi?"

Kakashi stood straight and reported, "They are ready, Hokage-sama."

"Huh?" asked Naruto, looking at each adult.

"Haruno Sakura", barked Tsunade.

"Hai, shishou", said Sakura, standing in attention.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"H...h...hai", said Naruto, completely flustered by the sudden formalities.

"Considering your performance, from here on, you will report to jonin Hatake Kakashi. You will be called as Team Kakashi."

Both Sakura and Naruto looked delighted. Naruto had to suppress the urge to jump around shouting 'dattebayo'.

"Good job, brat", said Jiraiya, looking proud.

"The three of you report to my office tomorrow morning", said Tsunade. "I will assign you your first mission."

"YES", shouted Naruto, punching his fist into the air.

"Well then, how about we go and have dinner?" said Kakashi, to his new subordinates. "My treat. You can have whatever you want."

The next thing Kakashi knew, he was being dragged by the arm at breakneck speed by Naruto, who kept shouting, "RAMEN, HERE I COME! DATTEBAYO!"

"Hey, wait for me", shouted Sakura, running after them.

Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune looked on as the newly formed Team Kakashi ran away.

"Tsunade", said Jiraiya, "make sure that you give them an A or S-ranked mission tomorrow."

"But why?" asked a concerned Shizune, who didn't think it was safe for Naruto to be doing anything higher than a C-rank.

"Because Kakashi is going to need the money", he replied, chuckling.

"Explain, pervert", said Tsunade.

"Well, it's been six months since Naruto had ramen", said Jiraiya, still chuckling at Kakashi's plight. "And he didn't have any this afternoon, because I made him promise that he wouldn't eat ramen until he had passed whatever test you gave him."

Shizune summed up all their thoughts, "Poor, poor Kakashi."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: Hi, everyone! Here's is the second chapter. Now this chapter is almost exactly the same as the manga. The story will start deviating from manga from the next chapter onwards.

Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or History's Strongest Disciple: Kenichi

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Now, she had seen everything.

Sakura had left her home some time back to go for their first mission. She had expected Naruto to be at the Hokage tower – he would probably arrive there at dawn – and she knew quite well that Kakashi would not arrive on time. But, when she got there she saw something that shocked her.

Naruto was there. But, he was _meditating. _Uzumaki Naruto was actually meditating. There he was, sitting outside the Hokage tower, his legs folded and his eyes closed, taking deep controlled breaths. She blinked. And blinked again. She rubbed her eyes. But the vision did not change. So she brought her hands together and said, "Kai!" But nothing changed. So it was definitely not a genjutsu. It really was him.

But she could not understand how it could be so. Just last night, the blonde had acted as though he was on a sugar rush. He had nearly brought Kakashi to ruin. It was only because she had threatened to smash his head into the ground that he had – very reluctantly – agreed to limit his ramen intake.

As she approached him, he opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, you came", he said, getting up, with a goofy grin on his face.

"Um, Naruto, were you meditating?" asked Sakura.

"Oh, yeah", said Naruto, scratching his head. "Ero-sennin has been making me do it since the first day of training. It's become a habit now. It used to be really annoying, but I guess it actually helps now."

At that moment, Kakashi arrived. "Good morning, you two."

Sakura turned towards him and said, "I just found Naruto meditating."

Kakashi chuckled, "Good one, Sakura."

"I am serious", she said, her face solemn.

Kakashi stared at her for a moment, then at Naruto, who looked annoyed and then at Sakura again.

"He could be an impostor", he said. Naruto's eye twitched.

"Nope, it's him. I checked for illusions", said Sakura.

"Oi! What's so strange about that?" asked Naruto, now seriously annoyed. "Ero-sennin taught me how to do that."

Kakashi looked at Sakura again, "Jiraiya-sama is truly a miracle worker." Sakura nodded solemnly.

"Anyways", said Kakashi, deciding to continue before Naruto blew up, "let's go get our first mission."

Naruto's annoyance evaporated instantly as he gave a loud cheer and followed the two to Tsunade's office. They found Tsunade and Shizune waiting for them.

"Well, Team Kakashi", said Tsunade. "This being your first mission together in a long time, I decided that you should go for this mission." She tossed a scroll at Kakashi. "You need to go to the west coast and negotiate a trade dispute between three companies. The details are in that scroll."

"You have to be kidding me", said Naruto, looking annoyed. Next to him, both Kakashi and Sakura looked nervous, being very aware of the Godaime's temper.

"Well, Naruto, if you don't like that, you can have this mission Shizune chose." Shizune looked very nervous all of a sudden. "It's a D-rank. You need to walk some dogs."

Naruto couldn't believe it. After all that hellish training, he was supposed to be walking dogs and other small stuff. "Hell no!" he exclaimed. "Granny, I didn't go through that hell to be doing these lame missions. You have no idea what I went through", he said, shuddering.

This caught all of their attention. Uzumaki Naruto had always been the most enthusiastic and energetic about training. What did Jiraiya do that had him so terrified?

Before anyone could ask, the door was flung open and a woman came running inside, a scroll in her hand. "Hokage-sama, this just came from Suna", she said, giving the scroll to Tsunade. The Godaime opened the scroll and her eyes widened on reading the contents.

"Team Kakashi", she said, her entire demeanour serious. "This is an S-rank mission. The Kazekage has been kidnapped by the Akatsuki."

Naruto's eyes widened.

_Gaara._

"You are to head to Suna and aid them in rescuing the Kazekage. Leave at once."

"Right", said Kakashi. He turned to his students. "Meet me at the gates in twenty minutes."

At that moment, Jiraiya entered the room through the window. "Tsunade, the Kazekage…"

"I know", she said, interrupting him. "I am sending this lot to Suna."

Jiraiya turned and saw Team Kakashi. "I see. Naruto, come here for a moment, will you?"

Naruto went towards Jiraiya.

"Naruto", he whispered, "I know you know this, but just a reminder…use that jutsu only as a last resort."

"Yeah, I know", the blonde replied.

Jiraiya nodded at Kakashi who said, "Alright team, let's move."

Twenty minutes later, Team Kakashi set off towards Suna. On the way, they met Temari who had been on the way back to Suna. They apprised her of the situation and she joined them as they hurried towards Suna. It took them three days to reach Suna, having been stopped on the way by two desert sandstorms.

On arriving at Suna, they were informed that Sabaku no Kankuro, the brother of Temari and Gaara had been poisoned by the Akatsuki when he attempted to save Gaara. Sakura rushed off immediately to try and save him. When they reached the hospital room, however…

"Konoha's White Fang!"

Next thing they knew, an old lady charged at Kakashi. Naruto jumped in between and blocked the incoming attack, though he was surprised and a little impressed at the old lady's strength.

"I will avenge my son, White Fang!" she shouted.

"W…wait…" Kakashi attempted to explain, but the old lady charged again. But before either Naruto or Kakashi could move, an old man, who looked as ancient as the woman, stopped her.

"That's enough, nee-san", he said, blocking her attack. "The White Fang died years ago. Look carefully, that is not him."

The old lady looked carefully at Kakashi before bursting out in laughter, "Ha ha ha ha! I knew that. I was just pretending to be senile."

The Konoha group blinked at the bizarre scene while the old man looked embarrassed.

Just then, a tall man, with half his face covered by a cloth, arrived.

"Chiyo-baasama, Ebizo-jiisama", said Baki, addressing the two old shinobi, "the Konoha shinobi have come here on our request. They have agreed to help us find the Kazekage."

"Bah!" said the old lady, Chiyo. "Has Suna become so weak that we have to rely on other villages, especially Konoha?"

Naruto scowled and was about to say something, but Sakura spoke first. "Where is Kankuro?"

"This way", Baki led them to Kankuro's bed where he lay in great pain. Sakura moved towards him. She moved her palms, which were glowing green, over his body. After three minutes, she shouted out to the medics near her.

"Alright, I am going to list down a few herbs. Can you get them?" She made a list of the herbs. The Suna medics went through the list and said, "Yes, we will collect them from our greenhouse." And they went quickly to gather the herbs.

They returned half an hour later with the necessary herbs. Sakura immediately started preparing the antidote while the Suna-nins and Naruto watched in wonder.

Chiyo, on the other hand, snorted.

"Who does that girl think she is? That poison was prepared by my grandson. Only the slug princess, Tsunade, can device a counter."

"Then, it should be okay", said the copy-nin, nonchalantly. "She is Tsunade-sama's apprentice."

Chiyo looked shocked that they would send someone of that calibre to help Suna. She watched along with everyone as Sakura began extracting the poison. She worked on Kankuro for an hour slowly extracting the poison from every part of his body. She eventually collected the poison in a bowl and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Well, he'll be okay now", she told Temari, who looked nearly faint with worry. "I have extracted most of the poison from his system. There are still trace amounts though. Give him the antidote thrice a day and he will be fine in two days."

"Thank you", she replied, before moving to sit beside her brother.

"Alright, Sakura-chan, you did it", said Naruto. "You were awesome."

"Indeed, Sakura", said Kakashi, "your skills have developed tremendously. Tsunade-sama has taught you well."

Sakura blushed slightly at the praise, but then got down to business. She turned to the other medics, "Could you take me to the greenhouse please? I would like to prepare a stronger antidote."

"Of course", said one of the other medics, obviously having been impressed by Sakura's skills. "This way, please." They led Sakura to the greenhouse.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei", said Naruto, turning to his teacher. "We should go now, so that we can save Gaara."

"We can't", said Kakashi, raising his hand to stop Naruto's protests. "Firstly, we do not know where to start looking. Secondly, we have just arrived after a three day travel. No matter how much you protest, you know you are in no condition to fight the Akatsuki and will only be a hindrance if you do so. And lastly, there is a storm outside. How do you expect to go anywhere?"

Naruto fumed silently unable to contradict Kakashi. Kakashi, on the other hand, turned to Baki, "Can we have some of the Kazekage's personal items? I can use my hounds to track his scent."

Baki nodded. "Take this as well", he said, giving Kakashi a red cloth. "It's from Sasori of the Red Sands. Kankuro tore that piece off him."

Kakashi took the cloth, "Very well. We will set off as soon as the sun rises. Naruto, go and rest. I will inform Sakura."

Naruto nodded reluctantly and followed Baki out of the room.

Chiyo watched everything silently.

* * *

The next morning, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi prepared to leave.

"I have already sent all my tracking hounds to locate the Akatsuki's trail", explained Kakashi to his team, Baki and Temari. "They will be able to track their location and also alert any nearby team."

"I wish I could come along", said Temari, frustrated, "but I have been asked to be a part of Suna's defence."

"You will need to go, Temari", said a voice from above them. They all looked up and saw Chiyo standing on top of a building. She jumped down and addressed them, "I will be going along with the Konoha team." She raised a hand to interrupt their spluttering protests. "I am Sasori's grandmother. I taught him. If anyone can counter his techniques, it's me."

"Besides, I am the one who sealed the Ichibi into the Kazekage. I feel a certain sense of responsibility."

Naruto glared at her, but decided to keep silent.

"In that case, we should set off now", said Kakashi. He nodded at Baki and moved out of the gates, his team and Chiyo following him.

Kakashi's nose was as good as his hounds'. He quickly located the Akatsuki's trail and the team followed him as he led them to Suna's borders.

"The Land of Rivers", said Chiyo.

"Yes", said Kakashi. "That's where the trail is leading us."

"Can't we go faster?" asked Naruto. "It's almost evening and Gaara's been with them for almost three days now."

"We have to follow the trail carefully, Naruto", said Kakashi. "If we don't, we could end up losing the trail."

Naruto huffed but remained quiet. He then asked, "Hey old lady, why did you seal the Ichibi into Gaara?"

Chiyo, who was at the back of the group, stared at Naruto's back for a moment, before answering, "Because Gaara was the only one among the Yondaime Kazekage's children who was compatible with the Ichibi."

"But why seal it into Gaara at all?"

"To protect the village, of course", she replied, matter-of-factly. "In order to protect the village, especially against the jinchuuriki of the other villages, it was necessary to have one of our own. Also, a jinchuuriki is a symbol of a village's power. Which is why the Ichibi no Tanuki was sealed inside Gaara. But he, like his predecessors failed."

Naruto gave a harsh laugh.

"Tell me how many Suna shinobi have actually succeeded in defeating a bijuu", he asked, his voice turning increasingly bitter. "None, right? But you expect an infant with no shinobi training to do what the strongest shinobi in your village could not. And if he fails, he is branded as a monster. As though we asked to have the bijuu sealed inside us."

"We?" thought Chiyo. "That means this boy is a jinchuuriki. But which one could it be? All the other beasts are accounted for. So that leaves the…_Kyuubi._"

"Gaara has worked very hard to become the Kazekage," continued Naruto. "And I am not going to let any Akatsuki bastard mess with that."

To his right, Sakura was startled to see Naruto's eyes become moist. Of course, she knew what Naruto was. Every shinobi ranked chunin and above knew of Naruto's status as a jinchuuriki. But none of his old classmates held that against him. But it was only now that Sakura understood the gravity of the situation. He was going to fight people who specifically wanted him dead. But she wouldn't allow it, she decided. She was not going to lose another teammate as well.

"Everyone, be alert!" shouted Kakashi. "We are entering the Land of Rivers".

Just as he had said, the desert was receding. Increasing patches of grass and smaller plants could be seen. At a distance, Naruto could see a forest. Everyone felt tensed as they entered the forest, travelling through the trees.

They had only travelled for some time when a shuriken suddenly flew in their path.

The team came to an abrupt halt and landed onto the ground.

Standing before them was a man neither Naruto nor Kakashi were particularly pleased to see.

"Uchiha Itachi", muttered Kakashi. Both Sakura and Chiyo gave gasps of recognition.

"Hello again, Naruto, Kakashi", said Itachi, his face and tone completely devoid of any emotion, as usual. "I am afraid that you will not be going beyond this point."


End file.
